Nightshade

Xiaonan 'Audrey' Tong, also known as Nightshade, is extremely strong and fast, and able to teleport from shadow to shadow. She also has the annoying ability to reflect attacks back toward targets of her choosing. Interestingly, Arc indicated she is not a mutant.

Conversation With Crosse

I was always competitive. As a girl it was gymnastics. I loved everything about it. I poured my heart into it. I wanted to be in the Olympics. Then I grew. There are no six-foot women in gymnastics. There are no six-foot men in gymnastics.

By then it was too late for me. Competing is what I loved. Soon we came to Seattle. I was angry. Really angry. I was angry at mom and dad for moving us here. I was angry at grandpa for being tall.

One good thing happened here. I found volleyball. It became my new obsession. I got a scholarship to SPU, and they let me walk on to the track team. After a red shirt year I was excited for my first taste of high-level competition. I made first team and we went 15-10. Then spring came and track season. Surprisingly, I made first team there too. My best event was the 400.

A week before the regional qualifier I twisted my ankle. Bad. Grade 2 Achilles strain and crutches for six weeks minimum. There went my season. The next day I went to see my doctor, but he was out. The replacement gave me a quick exam, some pain meds and a COVID shot. Or so he said.

When I woke up in the morning my ankle felt a lot better. I could walk without the crutches. By Friday I was back at the gym. By the day of the meet, I was ready to go. I didnt realize how weird that was because I had never had a major injury before.

To advance to the regionals I need to finish in the top half, but that was no easy task. I was ranked 9th of 12 so it was an outside shot at best. The gun went off and I exploded out of the blocks. Around the second turn I knew I was in first, so I glanced in my peripheral and realized I was 30 meters ahead. I had to practically walk to give the others a chance and I still broke the record by 5 seconds.

Something was wrong. It was the best day of my sporting life and I hated it.

Let me explain. The February before the season I was in a rut at the gym. My bench was stuck for six months and I was really frustrated at the lack of progress. Eventually I approached one of the big guys at the gym and he told me that when he gets stuck, he stops going heavy on the lift, and instead concentrates on deadlift for a few weeks. Well, it worked. When I finally hit my goal weight I was super excited. The guy was there, and when he came over and hit me with the high five it felt awesome. And luckily he didnt try to segue the celebration into a date.

That lift? 180 pounds. Now I hit people with motorcycles and knock helicopters out of the sky with my fists...and it feels cheap.

I have been hitting the gym every day before school for 10 years, doing whatever it takes to win. Now I can "win" without even trying. There is no competition anymore.